Protecting His Windflower (A Spirit Hunters Series Novel Book 1) by Temperance Dawn (best black authors .txt) 📕

“Yeah. We probably should. We wouldn’t want to make too many people jealous,” she told him with a giggle as his kiss tickled her neck. “We have a little audience,” she continued and nodded to the side where there were some passerby’s averting their stares.

“Good. I don’t care if they’re jealous. What are they gonna do? Have me arrested for making out with my girlfriend?”

Emily laughed and Liam moved his mouth back to hers, placing feather-light kisses across her lips and cheek.

Fifteen

“T

ell us what you found last night.” Liam stated as he placed a sandwich on a plate.

Luke sat at the dining table, the small, wooden chair creaking under his muscular weight. “Nothing, man. It was completely quiet. We didn’t pick up anything on video or the recorders during the night.”

“Strange that it was so quiet after all of the activity you two witnessed.” Trey sat next to Luke, and Emily was next to Liam settled across the table from them. They were all big men. Even sitting down, they took up much of the space in the dining area. Yet, Emily felt comfortable and at ease surrounded by them.

The three friends talked about which cameras they planned on using that night during the full investigation. Emily listened in wonderment as Liam spoke with his teammates about the plans for the evening. Although she didn’t understand everything the three best friends discussed, she was amazed at how they could each guess what one another was about to say. They were all passionate about their work. Speaking with enthusiasm, each one gave deep thought to the ideas being tossed around. Emily was fascinated. She was a fly on the wall in her own apartment, and that didn’t bother her in the least.

Emily was still lost in her thoughts when Liam grabbed her attention by placing his hand on hers.

“I’m sorry. What?”

“You really spaced out there,” he said as he leaned forward in his chair.

Emily stared into his calm, blue eyes. “I’m sorry. Just daydreaming.”

Liam scooted closer in his chair and whispered, “You get enough to eat?” He indicated to the half-eaten sandwich still sitting on her plate.

Emily nodded. “I did. I’ll wrap it and take it upstairs and finish it later.” Trey and Luke had made their way back to the kitchen to clean their plates.

“I’m about to tell the guys about what we discussed at the beach. Is that okay?”

“Yes.” Emily squeezed Liam’s hand.

He squeezed hers back and replied, “It’s going to be alright. Trust me?”

“I do.”

Trey and Luke were at the sink washing their plates when Liam suggested they go to the living room.

Trey and Luke walked out of the kitchen. “We found your vacuum, Emily, and we cleaned up the shattered glass. I think we got it all,” Trey told her.

“Yeah. We lifted the couch cushions and vacuumed under them too. But still, be careful. You probably want to vacuum a few more times. Just to be safe,” Luke added.

“Thanks, guys. You didn’t have to do all of that. I really appreciate it,”

“Let’s go sit in the living room and talk.” Liam kept Emily’s hand in his as he stood up from the table and led her to the sofa. Trey and Luke followed behind them and settled in the two chairs across from Emily and Liam.

“So, Emily and I talked today,” Liam began. “I told her about my reoccurring dream. Both of the beating and of her. She also knows about my past experiences with the paranormal while growing up.”

Trey and Luke nodded in approval. After a beat, Liam continued.

“Here’s the thing. Emily has been tormented her entire life by this haunting. It follows her. It’s not a possession, but it seems like some kind of an attachment.”

Intrigued at Liam’s statement, both friends sat forward.

“We didn’t get to tell you last night because of everything else that went down. We need to dig into Emily’s past. Maybe there are some possible clues as to why she’s been followed. But, Emily doesn’t know who her family is because she was abandoned at birth. Left at a fire station in Seattle. She was raised in foster care.”

“What?” Trey said, surprised.

“God. Emily. We’re so sorry.” Luke said.

“It’s okay,” Emily said. “I’ve made peace with it. Like I told Liam, it used to bother me. But over the years, I decided that I didn’t want to go through life pissed off at people I didn’t even know.” Emily took a deep breath. “If Liam thinks finding out who they were can connect the dots and tell us why this haunting started, then I’m on board with it.”

“Emily.” Trey stood from his chair and walked to the table where his laptop sat. “Were you ever told anything about the woman who dropped you off at the fire station? Anything at all? What she looked like maybe, or even a first name?” he asked as he took a seat and began typing away on his keyboard.

“The only thing I was told was that my birth mother was a drug addict. They knew because when I was taken to the hospital, they found traces of drugs in my system. I had to go through withdrawals before I was healthy enough to go into foster care. I was never told what she looked like. Only that she handed me to a fireman and walked out.”

“Okay,” Trey said and wrote down everything Emily had stated.

Luke then spoke up, “Emily, do you know the fire station where you were left? That might help us.”

Emily gave Luke the station number. She stayed quiet for a while. The two men busied themselves with typing away on their laptops. Liam sat with his arm around her waist and held her close. She felt safe. For the first time…ever.

Liam whispered in her ear, “This is what they do. They are great at gathering information.”

Emily smiled at him and nodded. Then, he cleared his throat, breaking the silence in the room. “Guys, I was